Win
by lovelightly
Summary: All of sudden I could see him in an entire new light. Instead of mighty L, the world's greatest detective, I could see a naïve, scared, feeble boy who could easily be broken, shattered, wrecked into pieces. A plain canvas begging to be marred by someone. A pure soul amidst rotten mass. And why shouldn't I exploit it? After all, everything is just a race between us. And I will win!


Boring, absolutely dull, that is what life always have been. Unending repetitive cycle of monotonous activities. Day in day out, wearing different mask to appear normal, socially acceptable and amiable. Engaging in mundane activities, knowing that they are utterly pointless.

Living amongst those shallow minded people, whose dimension of mind encompasses only trivial issues. Whose finesse of intelligence can't approach mine. Either they are abnormal or it is other way around. But to blend in was the most suitable choice.

So for them, Light Yagami was apparently a perfect human being! A perfect son, brother, student. But from inside, a soul dying of boredom; a mind unleashed, unchallenged.

A feeling has incessantly bugged me that I'm wasting my life. And despite my high intelligence, my mind has always hurtled in darkness, not knowing the way out of it or what else to do. Except for to breathe; because I have to.

But now things have changed. Maybe because of a note book, that gave a purpose to my life, channelizing my efforts to a worthwhile goal of creating a new world. Or maybe it was because of certain insomniac detective.

Our very first encounter sparked a rivalry between us. Not because he was a detective and I was a criminal. No, that is just an excuse of fate to bind us in front of others. The connection between us is rather something deeper, intangible; an unseen force connecting our minds.

We match each other's wit head to head. Always trying to outsmart each other. Where slightest thing such as an eye contact, can turn into an undeclared battle. Where slightest mistake, a single uncalculated move can make you lose. And where every victory counts!

It was recess time in school. I headed towards ground fumbling with zip of my satchel. As I reached the end of corridor, my steps faltered when I caught glance of Ryuga, perched on a bench under a tree, contently licking lollipop. I have always doubted that he does this to irritate me but here he was, sitting all by himself, savoring his treat. He bobbed his head up and down as he flicked his tongue in circles, before enveloping it completely in his mouth.

His peaceful solitude was disturbed when a short haired girl, wearing round spectacles and who was the only one in the whole university to openly admire Ryuga, meekly came over to him holding a notebook. I tried to hear their conversation but couldn't catch the words.

She passed the notebook to him, accidently brushing her fingers against his. And something happened which I didn't expect to happen. That usually calm, stoic, emotionless detective, who doesn't even react to anything in the world, actually reacted to such brief contact. He involuntarily flinched, his face contorted into a scowl.

She quickly murmured an apology, embarrassed and genuinely confused at such an exaggerated reaction from him. My lips curled into a smirk at the scene before me. _'Intimacy. That is all it took to break your expressionless mask, L?'_

He said something to brush her off and she hurried away to get away from him as quickly as possible. I can't believe that I didn't notice this before. Of course his social paranoia, pale skin, his nervousness at close proximity, all indicated that he was not used to human contacts. This nervousness has something to do with his past or his inexperience with human contacts.

All of sudden I could see him in an entire new light. Instead of mighty L, the world's greatest detective, I could see a naïve, scared, feeble boy who could easily be broken, shattered, wrecked into pieces. A plain canvas begging to be marred by someone. A pure soul amidst rotten mass. And why shouldn't I exploit it? After all, everything is just a race between us. And I will win this!

With number of plans forming in my mind, I headed towards cafeteria taking the other route.

Twenty minutes has passed since the last class ended. I stood in a room at backside of To-oh that usually remains abandoned. I stood in silence staring outside of the window, waiting for the detective to come. Knowing him, he would be here at any time, curious to know that why I didn't leave for home already. We know each other to well that we can predict each other's action with ease.

I heard footstep from behind, stopping at the door. I could imagine L's dark hollow eyes staring at my back with curiosity. I didn't move or gave any sign to acknowledge his presence. I know his mind gears must be speeding up, thinking about a plausible reason behind my peculiar behavior, trying to predict my next move, the new game I was playing.

' _You can't get this one, L!'_

As expected, he didn't attempt to break the silence, thus solidifying the tension (which is always present during all our interactions.

Finally deciding to speak he asked, "You are still here Light kun?"

I didn't respond, waiting for appropriate minutes to pass, just the exact amount of time suitable to evoke desired reaction from him. I shouldn't hurry in my response to pique his curiosity but at the same time I shouldn't delay it too much that he would lose his interest. Yes every move, pause, glance, instead everything has to be meticulously calculated. A slight mistake, a slight overlook of a minute detail would just kill the purpose of the game.

"Yes I am." A curt, meaningless response.

He came forward, stopping few steps away from me. _'Just as planned!'_ Despite all his passiveness, he could be sometimes too easy to predict.

"So any specific reason?" he asked as curiosity took the better of him. He must be expecting that I'll not reply or delay it, _s_ o to catch him off-guard, I replied:

"I wanted to meet you here!"

A dead silence.

I could feel a wave of curiosity, mixed with tinge of fear emanating from his body. As all his Kira percentages soared high. _'Tch! What do you think that I'll kill you like this? Don't insult my intelligence, L.'_

Knowing him, I could visualize his reaction. His wide, soulless eyes transfixed at my back, his thumb on his lower lip as he would be nibbling on it. I had to suppress the urge to turn around and see that tomb of hidden expressions. _'Just wait a bit more!'_

When I turned, my eyes met his inquisitive one. I slowly moved forward towards him, never breaking my gaze, relishing his increasing nervousness which he was trying to carpet under his stoic mask. As I swept my glance over his body, deliberately lingering it over his lips, his body stiffened, his hunched back straightened a bit in alertness.

"What for Light?" a shaky voice came out from his throat. He unknowingly flipped his tongue to wet his lips.

"What for hun?" I mumbled so lowly that it could be only audible to me as I brought my face closer to his.

His eyes narrowed in confusion, trying to understand what was happening. So before giving him time to think I closed the gap between our bodies and cupped his jaws. This sudden act caught him off guard as his eyes widened and he held his breath when he realized my intentions.

' _Ah! If you have seen his face!'_ It was totally aghast, drained out of blood. He was so shocked that I had to give him time so that he wouldn't hyperventilate.

He kept staring at me, unblinking, puzzled- trying to pull air into his lungs in short gasps.

"Light?" Apparently it might be a question for others but I could pick up the underlying plea in his voice, a plea to let go off him.

I leaned forward until all I could see was his deep pool of onyx eyes. As I moved forward, he tilted his head back in an attempt to create a distance between us. So I moved my hand from his jaw to knot in his wild hair, pulling it to adjust it until our lips meet.

As soon as our lips connected, a violent shudder ran through his body. And he brought his hand on my shoulder, maybe to support his body or to shove me off. But bafflement, fear, nervousness drained all his body strength, compelling him to resign to his fate like a stag at bay.

I pulled on his lower lip and caught it between my teeth. As he let out a small whimper, my heart fluttered, maybe because of the sheer sweetness of victory. Though my body protested on the thought of ending the contact, something screamed at me from inside that it wasn't enough yet but I withdrew as it was already more than I originally planned. _'How could I be so stupid to give in to the temptation?'_

When I withdrew, his eyes were dazed, confusion flicking in them. As much as I'd like to see his reaction, I turned away to hide the smirk that was forming on my lips. As I collected my book from desk, my mind replayed the whole scene again, savoring each single moment of my victory.

I was so indulged in my thoughts that I almost forgot about his presence or anything in the room. So when scrawny, cold hands gripped my wrist, shock engulfed me totally. It took a while to register what exactly was happening, that whose hand were clasping tightly around my wrist. As air filled my lungs, I realized that I've been holding my breath. What was happening? It was unknown to me. My mind was wreaking a havoc on my senses, like a machine which starts malfunctioning all of sudden. Different incoherent signals were there, muddled, indistinct-

"You are free tonight?"

' _Huh… tonight? What does he intend?'_

"Pennsylvania Hotel then?"

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. _'He can't mean that…!'_

Pennsylvania; a famous, overly priced, five star hotel renowned for . . . this can't be happening! The possibility hadn't even crossed my mind that events will take this turn because there wasn't a slightest chance that someone afraid of physical touch will suggest something like this. It was totally a far, far-fetched idea. ' _Did he take my act as a serious offer?'_

My mouth was dry, lips parched- the cold wind brushed my skin creating a goose bump on it. I realized that I can't step back from this. I was totally cornered, stuck in the web I spun.

' _No! I won't lose my virginity like this! Not for a stupid game, especially not to HIM!'_ I was almost at the verge of panic.

"I-I have a project to complete!" I thanked heaven that I was still able concoct an excuse.

He let go my hand and shrugged, "If you say so."

For a moment, relief flooded me but again my mind reminded that it wasn't over yet, that he was still in the room. I wanted to escape out, away from him, as quickly as I can but still I moved nonchalantly to collect my book which I had unknowingly dropped.

' _Damn! How did he turn the table on me?'_ And then every thought was replaced by anger; a red surge of blinding wrath. Different emotions surfaced in my mind, anger, humiliation, a wild fury. I just wanted to slam my hand against something hard to let out this frustration penting up inside my body, creating a fire inside, scorching my skin. I gritted my teeth to muffle the anger smoldering inside.

As I got my satchel I tried my best not to look at him, the smug expression that must be plastered on his face, as it will only humiliate me further. I have already made quite fun of myself. It was like that if I turned, I'll lose something further, perhaps another undeclared battle.

"Light!"

I faltered in my step. _'Don't turn! Just don't turn!'_

"You forgot this."

When I spun around, he shoved a book in front of me with a motto of To-oh written on cover, " **Learn, to win!** " He smirked and went off.

' _That bastard!'_


End file.
